Welcome to lecture
number four in the series,
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The Bible or Tradition.
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And the title of
our subject for today is
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Jesus and Theological Conflict.
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Now the introductory music that
you hear to each one of these
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lectures on the DVD's and
on television comes from what
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has been called the Battle Hymn
of the Protestant Reformation.
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You know, every time
that I hear this hymn,
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which is a paraphrase of
Psalm 46, and was written by
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Martin Luther, I can imagine
Martin Luther standing before
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Emperor Charles V, and
all of the dignitaries of the
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Roman Catholic Church, and
pronouncing those famous words
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at the Diet of Worms,
with a face like flint saying
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the following: My conscience
is captive by the Word of God.
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Therefore I cannot, and will not
recant, since it is difficult,
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unprofitable, and dangerous,
indeed to do anything against
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one's conscience.
So help me God, Amen.
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Those have become the
famous words of Martin Luther
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at the Diet of
Worms in the year 1521.
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Now Protestantism and
Catholicism are distinguished
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in many different ways.
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But if I had to choose
only one word that characterizes
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Protestantism it
would be the word Sola.
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That's a Latin word
that means only or alone.
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You see Protestantism
believes in Sola gratia.
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That means grace alone.
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Solo cristo, that
means Christ alone.
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Sola fida, which
means faith alone.
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Sola scriptura; scripture alone.
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And Soli Deo gloria, which means
all of the glory for God alone.
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Now if you had to characterize
Roman Catholicism, you would
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have to add a little
three letter word, the word ant.
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You see in the Roman
Catholic Church it is
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grace and human effort.
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It is Christ and Mary.
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It is faith and works.
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It is glory to God and all
the holy ones who have achieved
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sainthood by their good works.
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It is scripture and tradition.
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And so the one distinguishing
word between Protestants and
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Catholics could be
summarized by the word and,
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as far as
Catholicism is concerned,
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and the four letter
word in Protestantism
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which is the word Sola.
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Now Ellen White has described
the meaning of Sola Scriptura
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in the book, The
Great Controversy, page 595.
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This is how she states the
principle of scripture alone,
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Sola Scriptura.
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There you have the word Sola.
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That is one of the best
descriptions that I've ever read
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on Sola Scriptura;
that is scripture alone.
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Scripture explains itself.
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Scripture contains all of
the information that we need,
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spiritually
speaking, to get to heaven.
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Now Ellen White continues
this statement on page 595,
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by pointing out the
severe danger of trusting
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in the judgment of theologians
and so called scholars.
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Notice how she continues
this statement that I just read.
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And I want you to
notice the reason she gives why
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the religious leaders, why the
Devil would want the religious
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leaders to dictate
what people need to believe.
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At the end of the
statement she says:
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Is that true of what
happened in the days of Christ?
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We've been discussing the Jewish
view of tradition in the days of
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Christ, and we noticed that
their view of tradition led the
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Jewish nation to reject
Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
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And so it's very dangerous
to trust in bishops, pastors,
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professors of
theology, and their concepts.
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I'm not saying that we shouldn't
read what they have to say,
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but what they say cannot
be equalized with scripture.
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We must go to scripture
and study for ourselves,
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and see if what they
teach is in harmony with the
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written Word of God.
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And, of course, we have our
great exemplar, Jesus Christ,
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who points out that this is
the only way in which we can be
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certain about what to
believe and what to practice.
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So the question that we want
to answer in our study today is,
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how did Jesus face theological
conflicts and controversies
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that He had with the ministers
and the theologians of His day?
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Did Jesus ever appeal, even
once, to tradition to defend any
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point of belief, or
any point of practice?
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I'm going to tell you from
the get go that there is not a
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single case in the gospels where
Jesus ever quoted any rabbi
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or any scholar to
defend any point of doctrine,
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any point of practice.
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Jesus, as we're going to study,
always pointed people to the
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written scriptures.
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He never quoted the rabbi's.
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He never quoted the scholars.
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And, furthermore, we
know that He did not attend
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the schools of the rabbi's.
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In fact, He was home schooled.
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And the reason why He was home
schooled was so that He would
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not become defiled with the
concepts that were being taught
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in the theological schools.
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In fact, in the book, The Story
of Jesus, page 30, we find this
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remarkable statement about
Mary's instruction of Christ.
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It says:
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Notice it doesn't say her son.
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It says His Son. The
Father says, I want to tell you
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how to bring up My Son.
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And then notice what
she continues saying.
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...writings of the rabbi's.
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No, that's not
what it says. It says:
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So Jesus knew scripture
backwards and forwards.
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The reason why is that
Jesus studied scripture.
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Now the Spirit of Prophecy also
tells us that His mother was
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heartbroken many times
when she saw how the religious
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leaders were
opposed to Jesus Christ.
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And in some cases, she
even tried to convince Jesus
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to go along with the
traditions of the elders.
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And I want you to notice what
Jesus had to say in response.
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Signs of the Times, August
6, 1896, we find these words:
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rabbi's. No,
that's not what it says.
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Notice once again:
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What did Jesus
base His religious faith
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and His practices on?
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The written scriptures,
never oral tradition.
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Thus whenever Jesus defended
His teachings or His actions,
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He always appealed
to the written words
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of the Old Testament.
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He never, even once, quoted
or referred to the supposed
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oral sayings that came
from Moses, or from the
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tradition of the elders.
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We find in the book,
Councils to Teachers, page 447,
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these significant words:
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So if you didn't have a PhD
from the schools of the rabbi's,
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you were an
ignoramus, according to them.
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So Jesus and John, that's
John the Baptist by the way.
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There it is again. They
were just absolutely dumfounded
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and astonished at the
knowledge that John the Baptist
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and Jesus had of
the holy scriptures.
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Now Jesus, as you know,
when He was 12 years old,
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visited the temple
for the first time.
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It was at the
period of the Passover.
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And Ellen White has a very
interesting comment about this
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first visit, and the comment
is found in The Desire of Ages,
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page 85. It says there:
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Because He was nice.
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Now here comes one of
those key expressions:
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What does writ mean?
writings, writings, yes.
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He asked for their
authority in holy writ.
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That's a remarkable
statement, isn't it?
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Jesus always required
the defense of any view,
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or any practice
based on holy scripture.
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Now what I want to do in the
rest of the time that we have
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together is take a series
of examples from the gospels
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on how Jesus responded to the
Jews when they came at Him with
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objections, and they came
at Him with different comments
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about what He was teaching.
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And we're going to see that in
every single case in the gospels
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whenever Jesus answered an
objection, or had a theological
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controversy with the
scribes and the Pharisees,
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He always used scripture
to defend His point of view;
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never tradition, or never
said, I think, or I believe.
00:14:02.12\00:14:06.11
It was always based on the
writings of the Old Testament.
00:14:06.14\00:14:09.79
Now Jesus set the tone of how He
would deal with these objections
00:14:09.82\00:14:15.31
at the very beginning
of His ministry when He was
00:14:15.34\00:14:18.62
tempted of the Devil.
00:14:18.65\00:14:19.79
As you all know, the
Devil hurled three temptations
00:14:19.82\00:14:24.57
at Christ in the
Mount of Temptation.
00:14:24.60\00:14:26.83
I want you to
notice how Jesus responded.
00:14:26.86\00:14:29.73
And I know that you know this,
but it's good to read the text
00:14:29.76\00:14:33.10
anyway, because this is the
beginning of Christ's ministry.
00:14:33.13\00:14:36.17
It tells us how Jesus
was going to deal with things
00:14:36.20\00:14:40.96
from the very
beginning of His ministry.
00:14:40.99\00:14:43.28
Temptation 1. is
found in Matthew 4:3, 4.
00:14:43.31\00:14:51.21
Now the tempter came to Him...
00:14:51.24\00:14:53.15
And, by the way, the Spirit
of Prophecy emphasizes that the
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tempter came to Him as an
angel of light from heaven.
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And he said to JC, Jesus had
fasted 40 days and 40 nights,
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and He was thin, you
know, and He was emaciated.
00:15:03.15\00:15:06.52
And so the Devil says, You know,
I've heard that an angel has
00:15:06.55\00:15:10.05
fallen from heaven, and
you've got to be that angel,
00:15:10.08\00:15:13.33
by your appearance.
00:15:13.36\00:15:14.39
He says, But if
you've not that angel...
00:15:14.42\00:15:15.66
Then he tells Him to
turn the stones into bread.
00:15:15.69\00:15:19.40
So let's read.
00:15:19.43\00:15:20.46
Jesus saw through the
Devil's comment immediately.
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He knew that He was
not an angel from heaven.
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Do you know how He knew?
00:15:34.31\00:15:35.38
Because when Jesus was baptized
a voice came from heaven
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that said, This is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased.
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And now the Devil comes and
says, If you are the Son of God.
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The Father had said
that He was the Son of God.
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And now the
Devil says, If You are.
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Jesus says, Think it?
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What do you mean? My
Father said that I am His Son.
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Immediately when Jesus
detected the words of doubt,
00:15:56.34\00:15:59.96
He knew that it was the Devil.
00:15:59.99\00:16:01.50
Now how did Jesus answer
the Devil? Notice verse 4.
00:16:01.53\00:16:04.76
What? There Jesus sets the tone.
00:16:09.33\00:16:12.56
It is written. Do you know
where that quotation comes from?
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It comes from Deuteronomy 8:3.
00:16:25.20\00:16:29.19
So Jesus is quoting
from the writings of Moses.
00:16:29.22\00:16:32.20
He's not giving
some oral tradition.
00:16:32.23\00:16:33.90
He's quoting written
scripture; what Moses wrote.
00:16:33.93\00:16:38.18
And then we have temptation 2.
00:16:38.21\00:16:40.54
The Spirit of Prophecy says
that the Devil is still there
00:16:40.57\00:16:43.60
as an angel of light.
00:16:43.63\00:16:44.66
He doesn't unveil
his real identity until
00:16:44.69\00:16:46.92
the third temptation.
00:16:46.95\00:16:47.98
But in the second
temptation we're told:
00:16:48.01\00:16:50.20
And Ellen White explains
that he wanted to impress Jesus
00:16:54.36\00:16:57.22
with his great power by
flying Jesus to the pinnacle
00:16:57.25\00:16:59.89
of the temple. And now notice:
00:16:59.92\00:17:01.94
Once again expressing doubt.
00:17:05.27\00:17:07.08
Huh, interesting! The Devil
heard Jesus say, It is written
00:17:11.18\00:17:14.47
in the first temptation, and
he says, Hey, this guy lives by
00:17:14.50\00:17:17.98
It is written, so let's give Him
a little bit of It is written.
00:17:18.01\00:17:21.46
And so the Devil
says, It is written,...
00:17:21.49\00:17:23.58
Do you know what?
00:17:33.35\00:17:34.38
This quotation
comes from Psalm 91.
00:17:34.41\00:17:36.55
But the Devil left out a phrase
purposely, because he knew that
00:17:36.58\00:17:42.06
if he put it in, Jesus
would immediately detect
00:17:42.09\00:17:45.31
what he was trying to do.
00:17:45.34\00:17:47.10
And this is the
part that was omitted:
00:17:47.13\00:17:49.37
...to keep thee in all thy ways.
00:17:51.96\00:17:54.31
If Jesus had jumped from
the temple tower, He would not
00:17:54.34\00:17:57.32
have been keeping
His Father's ways.
00:17:57.35\00:17:59.38
And the Devil knew it, so
he says, I've got to hide that
00:17:59.41\00:18:01.84
portion of scripture.
00:18:01.87\00:18:03.26
Now how did Jesus answer
the Devil? Notice verse 7.
00:18:03.29\00:18:07.81
How did He answer?
00:18:09.61\00:18:11.45
Now a better translation
would be, It is also written.
00:18:15.31\00:18:18.40
So the Devil
says, It is written.
00:18:18.43\00:18:20.84
Jesus says, Yeah,
but it is also written...
00:18:20.87\00:18:22.86
And this quotation
comes from Deuteronomy 6:16.
00:18:22.89\00:18:27.88
And so in the second
temptation Jesus faces the Devil
00:18:32.00\00:18:36.93
in the same way that He did in
the first temptation. He says:
00:18:36.96\00:18:40.06
Quotations from
Deuteronomy 6: 16.
00:18:43.34\00:18:47.65
And then we have
the third temptation.
00:18:47.68\00:18:49.19
The Devil takes Jesus to a
high mountain and shows Him all
00:18:49.22\00:18:52.49
of the kingdoms of the world.
00:18:52.52\00:18:53.70
Let's read about
it in Matthew 4:8.
00:18:53.73\00:18:56.99
And, by the way, Ellen White
explains that at this point
00:19:11.04\00:19:13.99
the Devil had
revealed his true identity.
00:19:14.02\00:19:16.22
And notice verse 10:
00:19:16.25\00:19:19.19
And then what do we have?
00:19:23.33\00:19:24.92
You shall worship
the Lord your God,
00:19:27.72\00:19:29.98
and Him only you shall serve.
00:19:30.01\00:19:32.18
These quotations come
from Deuteronomy 6:13,
00:19:32.21\00:19:35.63
and Deuteronomy 10:20,
from the writings of Moses.
00:19:35.66\00:19:40.38
Jesus is not appealing to
tradition, to some supposed
00:19:40.41\00:19:44.46
oral tradition, or
the maxims of the rabbi's.
00:19:44.49\00:19:47.41
Jesus doesn't say,
I think, or I believe.
00:19:47.44\00:19:50.07
Jesus answered by
quoting the written scriptures.
00:19:50.10\00:19:53.94
Jesus lived by Sola Scriptura.
00:19:53.97\00:19:57.23
Now I want you to notice
how Jesus introduced Himself
00:19:57.26\00:20:01.01
at the beginning of His
ministry after His baptism.
00:20:01.04\00:20:03.30
Jesus goes to the synagogue.
00:20:03.33\00:20:05.63
He's asked to do
the scripture reading.
00:20:05.66\00:20:08.09
And He opens up the
scroll to Isaiah 61:1, 2.
00:20:08.12\00:20:13.41
And when He finishes
reading that passage, He says,
00:20:13.44\00:20:18.09
and this is in Luke 4:21,
00:20:18.12\00:20:20.66
So how did Jesus
introduce His public ministry?
00:20:28.21\00:20:31.84
By appealing to what?
00:20:31.87\00:20:33.05
By appealing to
scripture: Isaiah 61:1, 2.
00:20:33.08\00:20:38.72
Now go with me to John 5:45- 47.
00:20:38.75\00:20:43.36
This is an interesting passage.
00:20:43.39\00:20:44.85
You know, there's
a group of Jews...
00:20:44.88\00:20:46.71
Jesus had just
healed a paralytic.
00:20:46.74\00:20:49.36
And, you know, then He had
a dialogue with the Jews after
00:20:49.39\00:20:53.19
He had healed the paralytic.
00:20:53.22\00:20:54.56
And I want you to know how
Jesus concludes His argument.
00:20:54.59\00:20:57.87
Notice John 5:45.
Jesus says to them:
00:20:57.90\00:21:01.98
So who accused them?
00:21:10.65\00:21:12.81
Jesus says, I
don't have to accuse you.
00:21:12.84\00:21:15.75
There's one who accuses you.
00:21:15.78\00:21:17.47
Moses in whom you trust
is the one who accuses you.
00:21:17.50\00:21:20.99
And then notice verse 46:
00:21:21.02\00:21:22.65
Is Jesus speaking
about some oral tradition
00:21:31.10\00:21:33.30
that comes from Moses?
00:21:33.33\00:21:35.30
No, no, no, Jesus is saying:
00:21:35.33\00:21:36.58
And then in case that wasn't
clear, in verse 47 it says:
00:21:38.64\00:21:42.33
So if you don't
believe his what?
00:21:50.93\00:21:52.80
If you don't
believe his writings,
00:21:52.83\00:21:54.80
how will you believe My words?
00:21:54.83\00:21:57.12
So what did Jesus appeal to
when He was discussing things
00:21:57.15\00:22:00.69
with the Jewish nation?
00:22:00.72\00:22:01.80
He appealed to the
written scriptures.
00:22:01.83\00:22:05.13
Now lets refer to Mark 7.
00:22:05.16\00:22:07.68
We already discussed this
in our last study together.
00:22:07.71\00:22:10.66
Remember we talked about
the concept of tradition,
00:22:10.69\00:22:13.32
and the washing of the
hands, and the washing of pots,
00:22:13.35\00:22:16.71
and so on? Now I'm only
going to refer to this briefly,
00:22:16.74\00:22:19.88
because we did a
full study on Mark 7.
00:22:19.91\00:22:22.68
How did Jesus respond to
the objections of the rabbi's
00:22:22.71\00:22:28.58
that He did not
have His disciples wash
00:22:28.61\00:22:30.72
ceremonially as they should?
00:22:30.75\00:22:33.13
Did Jesus quote
contrary views of the scribes,
00:22:33.16\00:22:37.02
and of the Pharisees to
say, Listen folks, you know,
00:22:37.05\00:22:39.56
there's another tradition
that says just the opposite
00:22:39.59\00:22:41.99
of what you're doing.
00:22:42.02\00:22:43.05
Absolutely not! Jesus
quoted scripture three times.
00:22:43.08\00:22:47.22
Isaiah 29:13 was
the first quotation.
00:22:47.25\00:22:51.24
Jesus said, You know
the prophet Isaiah spoke
00:22:51.27\00:22:53.51
very well about you.
00:22:53.54\00:22:54.57
And then you have
another quotation:
00:23:00.68\00:23:02.92
Jesus is quoting
Isaiah 29:13 when He's in
00:23:08.29\00:23:13.19
controversy with them.
00:23:13.22\00:23:14.53
Then a little later
on Jesus speaks about the
00:23:14.56\00:23:17.94
tradition of Corban.
00:23:17.97\00:23:19.00
Do you remember we
talked about Corban, and how it
00:23:19.03\00:23:21.21
opposed the commandment of God?
00:23:21.24\00:23:23.10
Well, Jesus quoted
Exodus 20:12 where it says what?
00:23:23.13\00:23:29.05
Jesus says, Look, the
writings of Moses say,
00:23:32.38\00:23:35.90
Honor your father and your
mother, but you have Corban
00:23:35.93\00:23:38.91
as one of the traditions, which
contradicts that commandment.
00:23:38.94\00:23:41.93
In other words, your traditions
are contrary to the commandments
00:23:41.96\00:23:44.88
of God; the written
commandments of God.
00:23:44.91\00:23:46.81
Oral tradition
contradicts the written word.
00:23:46.84\00:23:50.20
And then Jesus quotes
Exodus 21:17 where Moses wrote:
00:23:50.23\00:23:55.01
And so how did Jesus face
this issue of ceremonial washing
00:23:59.01\00:24:03.88
of the hands? Did He speculate?
00:24:03.91\00:24:05.83
Did He say, I think, I believe.
00:24:05.86\00:24:07.58
You know, the other rabbi said
something different? No, no, no.
00:24:07.61\00:24:10.78
Jesus, three times quoted
scripture as the authority
00:24:10.81\00:24:15.33
to respond to this
particular situation.
00:24:15.36\00:24:18.28
Now once a scholar, a
certain scholar or theologian,
00:24:18.31\00:24:22.80
came to Jesus to test Him.
00:24:22.83\00:24:24.62
In other words, he
wanted to trick Jesus.
00:24:24.65\00:24:26.74
And he says to
Jesus, What do I need to do
00:24:26.77\00:24:29.22
to inherit eternal life?
00:24:29.25\00:24:30.97
And I want you to notice in
Luke 10:26 that Jesus answers
00:24:31.00\00:24:37.04
his question
with another question.
00:24:37.07\00:24:38.90
Jesus says, What is what?
00:24:38.93\00:24:42.06
You can say what
do the rabbi's say?
00:24:42.09\00:24:46.06
You know, what does the oral
tradition that is handed down
00:24:46.09\00:24:50.08
from the times of
Moses say? No, Jesus says:
00:24:50.11\00:24:53.03
When it says
the law, by the way,
00:24:54.74\00:24:56.18
it's referring to the
Torah, the five books of Moses.
00:24:56.21\00:24:59.20
How do you read? Are
these the writings of Moses?
00:24:59.23\00:25:04.13
Absolutely! And then do you
know what the young man does?
00:25:04.16\00:25:07.41
He quotes Deuteronomy 6:4,
and he quotes Leviticus 19:18.
00:25:07.44\00:25:13.71
And then Jesus
says to this young man:
00:25:13.74\00:25:17.03
So how did Jesus answer
this young man? with a question.
00:25:20.85\00:25:25.51
But by His question He
led the man to quote what?
00:25:25.54\00:25:30.15
to quote scripture;
which the two scriptures are
00:25:30.18\00:25:34.36
Deuteronomy 6:4,
and Leviticus 19:18.
00:25:34.40\00:25:38.22
You know, the enemies of
Jesus once came to Him and said
00:25:38.25\00:25:42.34
to Him, We can't accept
Your testimony as being valid
00:25:42.37\00:25:45.52
and true, because according to
what Moses said, there needs to
00:25:45.55\00:25:50.05
be two witnesses to
make a testimony true.
00:25:50.08\00:25:53.44
Now lets read John 8:17, 18 to
see how Jesus responded to this
00:25:53.47\00:25:59.64
accusation that because Jesus
supposedly was giving testimony
00:25:59.68\00:26:03.04
about Himself, there
wasn't anybody else giving
00:26:03.07\00:26:05.45
testimony of Him, then
His word could not be true.
00:26:05.48\00:26:09.78
John 8:17, 18. It
says: It is also what?
00:26:09.81\00:26:16.29
That is in the
writings of Moses.
00:26:18.46\00:26:20.15
And, incidentally, He's
quoting here, or referring to
00:26:20.18\00:26:23.48
Deuteronomy 17:6,
and Deuteronomy 19:15,
00:26:23.51\00:26:28.02
where it says that one witness
was not sufficient or enough
00:26:28.05\00:26:31.88
to prove
something. And so it says:
00:26:31.91\00:26:34.42
And then notice what Jesus says:
00:26:39.23\00:26:42.71
So I do have two
witnesses, Jesus says.
00:26:49.86\00:26:52.24
I have My witness and I
have the witness of My Father.
00:26:52.27\00:26:57.18
And He appealed to
what? to written scripture
00:26:57.21\00:27:00.60
to prove His point.
00:27:00.63\00:27:02.67
Now Jesus had also
many Sabbath controversies,
00:27:02.70\00:27:05.98
as you're very much aware.
00:27:06.01\00:27:07.79
And one of those Sabbath
controversies that Jesus had
00:27:07.82\00:27:11.17
was about the disciples picking
ears of corn on the Sabbath.
00:27:11.20\00:27:17.00
Do you remember
that particular episode?
00:27:17.03\00:27:18.82
And they came at Jesus and
they said, Why do you allow Your
00:27:18.85\00:27:22.30
disciples to disobey this
regulation that you're not
00:27:22.33\00:27:25.78
supposed to pick ears,
and you're not supposed to eat
00:27:25.81\00:27:28.72
what you take from
those ears on the Sabbath.
00:27:28.75\00:27:33.32
Well, notice how Jesus
answered this. Matthew 12:3-5.
00:27:33.35\00:27:39.42
What? There it is, it's
written in scriptures again.
00:27:42.37\00:27:45.59
And He's quoting, by
the way, 1 Samuel 21:6.
00:27:45.62\00:27:49.53
And so how is Jesus
defending His point of view;
00:28:07.35\00:28:11.21
defending what
His disciples did?
00:28:11.24\00:28:13.07
He's referring to what?
00:28:13.10\00:28:14.84
He's referring to an experience
that was written in 1 Samuel.
00:28:14.87\00:28:18.36
He's referring to the
writings of the Old Testament.
00:28:18.39\00:28:21.78
And then Jesus refers to
another interesting passage
00:28:21.81\00:28:25.17
in the second part, actually in
verse 5, Jesus continues saying:
00:28:25.20\00:28:29.55
That is the law of Moses.
00:28:33.15\00:28:34.34
Now when it says that
they profaned the Sabbath
00:28:39.09\00:28:40.90
it's because they
continued offering sacrifices,
00:28:40.93\00:28:43.49
and lighting the lamps, and
doing everything on the Sabbath.
00:28:43.52\00:28:47.02
And, actually, they
offered twice as many sacrifices
00:28:47.05\00:28:50.04
on the Sabbath
than any other day.
00:28:50.07\00:28:51.65
And they were blameless!
00:28:51.68\00:28:53.57
And so Jesus is
arguing from scripture.
00:28:53.60\00:28:56.64
He's arguing from Numbers
28: 9, 10, as well as from
00:28:56.67\00:29:00.60
1 Samuel 21:6 that His disciples
have a perfect right to eat
00:29:00.63\00:29:06.38
the ears of corn that
they had picked on the Sabbath.
00:29:06.41\00:29:09.75
Now you also remember that
there was once a dispute between
00:29:09.78\00:29:13.82
Jesus and the religious
leaders concerning marriage.
00:29:13.85\00:29:16.90
Do you remember that
dispute over marriage?
00:29:16.93\00:29:19.64
You know, the scribes came to
Jesus and they said, You know,
00:29:19.67\00:29:22.60
Moses allowed us to get
divorced for any reason.
00:29:22.63\00:29:25.95
So they're going to actually
pit Moses against Moses.
00:29:25.98\00:29:31.53
And I want you to notice how
Jesus answers this particular
00:29:31.56\00:29:35.39
objection that they bring up.
00:29:35.42\00:29:37.82
Matthew 19:4-6, Matthew 19:4-6.
00:29:37.85\00:29:43.91
What? There it is again;
Jesus using the scriptures
00:29:47.86\00:29:51.51
to present His point.
00:29:51.54\00:29:53.61
Where's that
quotation come from?
00:29:59.12\00:30:00.76
Genesis 1:27, right?
00:30:00.79\00:30:03.92
That's Genesis 2:24.
00:30:14.31\00:30:16.54
So how is Jesus
proving His point to these
00:30:25.72\00:30:28.46
religious leaders: to the
scribes, and the theologians,
00:30:28.49\00:30:32.08
and the scholars,
and ministers of His day?
00:30:32.12\00:30:34.17
He's not speculating.
00:30:34.20\00:30:35.64
He's not referring to
what other rabbi's said.
00:30:35.67\00:30:38.19
He's not
referring to oral tradition.
00:30:38.22\00:30:39.85
He says, Have you not
read in the scriptures?
00:30:39.88\00:30:43.17
And then He
refers to Genesis 1: 27,
00:30:43.20\00:30:46.09
and He refers to Genesis 2:24.
00:30:46.12\00:30:49.71
Now you remember when
Jesus entered triumphantly
00:30:49.74\00:30:52.76
into Jerusalem
sitting on a donkey?
00:30:52.80\00:30:55.05
You know, and the religious
leaders, they were saying,
00:30:55.08\00:30:58.25
You should rebuke
those people who are saying,
00:30:58.28\00:31:01.42
Hosanna to the King.
00:31:01.45\00:31:03.50
You shouldn't
allow them to say that.
00:31:03.53\00:31:06.25
How did Jesus defend the people,
and particularly the children,
00:31:06.29\00:31:11.50
in that crowd who
were glorifying Jesus,
00:31:11.53\00:31:14.82
who was marching into Jerusalem?
00:31:14.86\00:31:16.05
Notice Matthew 21:16.
00:31:16.09\00:31:19.47
What? There it is again!
00:31:24.03\00:31:26.16
He's quoting
Psalm 8:2, by the way.
00:31:27.87\00:31:31.16
So Jesus is saying, Listen,
don't tell me that they can't
00:31:39.24\00:31:41.99
say this, because there
were already writings in the
00:31:42.03\00:31:44.37
Old Testament that
pointed to the moment when
00:31:44.40\00:31:46.52
they were going to say this.
00:31:46.60\00:31:47.63
But Jesus is defending
what they're doing based not on
00:31:47.66\00:31:51.72
oral tradition, or on
what has been handed down,
00:31:51.75\00:31:54.38
or passed along, or received.
00:31:54.41\00:31:56.30
He's defending it on
the basis of scripture.
00:31:56.33\00:31:59.69
Now you remember when Jesus
cleansed the temple, right?
00:31:59.72\00:32:03.77
This is the cleansing
of the temple at the end
00:32:03.80\00:32:06.68
of His ministry, because
He also cleansed the temple
00:32:06.71\00:32:08.74
at the
beginning of His ministry.
00:32:08.77\00:32:09.88
This is at the end.
00:32:09.91\00:32:10.94
And in Matthew 21:13 notice the
justification that Jesus uses
00:32:10.97\00:32:18.44
for cleansing the
temple. It says there:
00:32:18.48\00:32:21.76
What's the next phrase?
00:32:23.80\00:32:25.13
There it is
again: It is written!
00:32:25.16\00:32:28.55
He's referring to Isaiah 56:7,
by the way; written scripture.
00:32:31.81\00:32:35.67
Now do you remember
the parable that Jesus told
00:32:43.94\00:32:46.70
about the vineyard workers?
00:32:46.74\00:32:47.94
Remember that there were some
messengers that were sent out
00:32:47.97\00:32:51.18
at vintage time
to get the fruit?
00:32:51.21\00:32:53.41
And what did they do
with those messengers?
00:32:53.44\00:32:56.00
Oh they killed them,
and they rejected them.
00:32:56.03\00:32:57.90
And so God sent out a
second group of messengers.
00:32:57.93\00:33:00.83
Incidentally, this is really
telling the story of Israel.
00:33:00.86\00:33:03.76
The first messengers
are between Mount Sinai
00:33:03.80\00:33:06.26
and the Babylonian captivity.
00:33:06.29\00:33:07.79
The second group are
the ones that are sent out
00:33:07.82\00:33:11.62
after the Babylonian captivity,
up to the times of Christ.
00:33:11.66\00:33:14.80
And so two groups of
messengers are sent out.
00:33:14.83\00:33:17.96
And then, last of
all, God sends His what?
00:33:17.99\00:33:21.11
God sends His own Son.
00:33:21.15\00:33:23.11
And He says, They're
going to respect my Son.
00:33:23.15\00:33:24.97
But instead of respecting the
Son they said, This is the heir.
00:33:25.00\00:33:28.94
Lets take Him and cast Him
out of the city, and kill Him,
00:33:28.98\00:33:32.77
and take His inheritance.
00:33:32.81\00:33:35.40
Well, I want you to notice
that after telling this parable,
00:33:35.44\00:33:38.33
Jesus asks the question:
00:33:38.36\00:33:40.50
This is in
Matthew 21 by the way.
00:33:47.96\00:33:51.62
What will the owner of
the vineyard, the Father,
00:33:51.65\00:33:54.82
do to those individuals?
00:33:54.85\00:33:56.29
They answered. They still
didn't understand the parable.
00:33:56.33\00:34:00.67
They indicted
themselves. They answered:
00:34:00.71\00:34:03.50
And then Jesus quotes scripture.
00:34:13.77\00:34:17.81
He's quoting
Psalm 118:22. He says:
00:34:17.85\00:34:21.85
What? Almost adnauseam you
come to this way that Jesus
00:34:22.67\00:34:28.20
faced theological objections.
00:34:28.23\00:34:30.24
He did not have 150 footnotes
in a paper quoting the opinions,
00:34:30.27\00:34:38.91
the learned
opinions of the scholars.
00:34:38.94\00:34:41.00
There's nothing wrong with
scholarship, but you have to
00:34:41.03\00:34:44.39
come fresh to scripture.
00:34:44.42\00:34:45.78
We have to use
scripture in order to defend
00:34:45.81\00:34:49.50
our points of view, and
to defend our practices.
00:34:49.53\00:34:52.14
So He says:
00:34:52.17\00:34:53.20
Then He quotes Psalm 118:22.
00:34:55.43\00:34:58.10
So Jesus, once again, is quoting
scripture and applying it
00:35:08.95\00:35:13.77
to them in this particular case.
00:35:13.80\00:35:16.08
Now the Sadducees were
an interesting denomination
00:35:16.12\00:35:20.99
in the days of Christ.
00:35:21.02\00:35:22.05
The Sadducees only
accepted the five books of Moses
00:35:22.08\00:35:27.58
as being fully inspired.
00:35:27.61\00:35:28.79
In fact the
Sadducees did not believe
00:35:28.83\00:35:32.43
that a person had an afterlife.
00:35:32.47\00:35:36.45
They did not believe in
the immortality of the soul,
00:35:36.49\00:35:39.14
and they did not believe in
the resurrection of the dead.
00:35:39.18\00:35:41.86
They were kind of fatalists.
00:35:41.90\00:35:43.80
They believed that when
a person died, that was it.
00:35:43.83\00:35:46.08
And so they come to Jesus
to try to trick Jesus with this
00:35:46.12\00:35:50.62
scenario of seven brothers.
00:35:50.66\00:35:52.90
And you know the story, right?
00:35:52.93\00:35:54.34
Seven brothers, all of
them married a certain woman
00:35:54.37\00:35:58.09
because, you know, one died
and so the next one came and
00:35:58.13\00:36:01.81
married the
woman, and that one died.
00:36:01.85\00:36:03.44
The next one came
and married the woman.
00:36:03.48\00:36:05.04
So the seven brothers
married the same woman.
00:36:05.08\00:36:06.92
And so they asked Jesus,
Well tell us, who will be this
00:36:06.95\00:36:11.36
woman's husband
in the resurrection?
00:36:11.40\00:36:14.25
And how did Jesus
answer what they were saying?
00:36:14.29\00:36:18.81
Well, the answer is
found in Mark 12:24-27.
00:36:18.85\00:36:23.34
You know, Jesus didn't
say, Oh you're so ridiculous!
00:36:23.37\00:36:26.08
You know, He didn't say, Well,
you know, what do your scribes,
00:36:26.11\00:36:28.91
or your scholars have to say?
00:36:28.94\00:36:31.19
No, no, no, Jesus is
going to use scripture to answer
00:36:31.22\00:36:35.04
their trick that
they're trying to lead Him into.
00:36:35.07\00:36:39.65
And so it says in Mark 12:24:
00:36:39.68\00:36:42.61
Why did He say,
Nor the power of God?
00:36:53.89\00:36:56.87
Well, He's saying, You
don't know the scriptures,
00:36:56.90\00:36:59.12
because the scriptures
predict a resurrection.
00:36:59.15\00:37:01.29
And you don't know the power
of God because you don't believe
00:37:01.33\00:37:05.35
that God is powerful enough
to resurrect people. So He says:
00:37:05.38\00:37:09.37
What? So is Jesus
going to say there is a
00:37:25.64\00:37:29.96
resurrection of the dead? Yes.
00:37:30.00\00:37:32.02
Is He quoting the rabbi's to
defend that point of view? No!
00:37:32.05\00:37:35.36
He says it's in
the scriptures. Notice:
00:37:35.39\00:37:37.56
Not oral tradition,
but in the book of Moses.
00:37:41.76\00:37:44.65
Incidentally,
that's in Exodus 3:6.
00:37:46.88\00:37:51.23
Now He's quoting.
00:37:56.52\00:37:57.55
Now let me ask you,
when Jesus said those words,
00:38:01.49\00:38:05.66
were Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob dead?
00:38:05.69\00:38:07.95
They were dead. They'd
been dead for a long time.
00:38:07.98\00:38:11.31
And so Jesus says:
00:38:11.35\00:38:14.40
Now was Jesus saying
that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
00:38:29.87\00:38:32.82
were living at that time? No.
00:38:32.86\00:38:34.86
What He was saying is that for
God what is potential is actual.
00:38:34.89\00:38:39.71
Because God was going to
resurrect Abraham, Isaac,
00:38:39.75\00:38:43.11
and Jacob. That means that
God is the God of the living,
00:38:43.14\00:38:46.23
not of the dead. In other words,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
00:38:46.26\00:38:49.34
were not going to remain dead.
00:38:49.37\00:38:50.78
They were going to resurrect.
00:38:50.82\00:38:52.22
Are you understanding?
00:38:52.26\00:38:53.41
And how did Jesus
defend His point of view?
00:38:53.44\00:38:55.76
He defended His point of view
not on the basis of tradition,
00:38:55.80\00:38:59.68
oral sayings that had
been passed on from Moses,
00:38:59.71\00:39:02.55
He defended His point of
view by referring to what?
00:39:02.58\00:39:05.95
By referring to the scriptures;
time and again in the gospels.
00:39:05.99\00:39:11.33
Now the scribes came to Jesus
when Jesus entered the temple
00:39:11.36\00:39:18.88
for the last time, and
they asked Jesus an interesting
00:39:18.92\00:39:23.57
question. It says,
While the Pharisees were...
00:39:23.60\00:39:26.20
Actually Jesus asked
the Pharisees the question.
00:39:26.23\00:39:28.80
This is Matthew 22:41.
00:39:30.39\00:39:32.11
The word Christ
means the Messiah.
00:39:35.79\00:39:37.71
In other words,
whose Son is the Messiah?
00:39:41.06\00:39:42.59
Piece of cake!
00:39:45.23\00:39:46.52
Are you understanding
the difficult situation
00:39:50.89\00:39:54.23
that Jesus is putting them in?
00:39:54.27\00:39:55.62
You know, who's
greater, the Father or the Son?
00:39:55.66\00:39:59.90
Let me ask you, in
human terms, who's greater,
00:39:59.94\00:40:04.14
the Father or the Son?
00:40:04.18\00:40:05.21
The Son owes respect
to the Father, right?
00:40:05.24\00:40:08.13
The Father is
greater than the Son.
00:40:08.16\00:40:09.86
And yet Jesus is here saying,
Why did David call his son
00:40:09.89\00:40:13.95
Lord? It must be that
his son is great than he is.
00:40:13.98\00:40:17.38
So the Messiah can't merely
be literally the son of David.
00:40:17.42\00:40:21.30
Are you
understanding this point?
00:40:21.33\00:40:22.67
And then notice that
Jesus actually quotes scripture
00:40:22.70\00:40:26.42
to prove His point.
00:40:26.45\00:40:28.13
He's quoting Psalm 110:1.
00:40:28.16\00:40:30.82
So how did Jesus present this
case of Him being the Messiah,
00:40:43.04\00:40:48.06
and being greater than David?
00:40:48.09\00:40:49.64
He did it by
referring to Psalm 110:1 that
00:40:49.67\00:40:54.43
proved His Messiahship.
00:40:54.46\00:40:56.32
Now after the resurrection,
as you know, Jesus was walking
00:40:56.35\00:41:00.86
to a village called Emmaus.
00:41:00.89\00:41:02.74
And there were two
disciples, followers of Jesus,
00:41:02.78\00:41:05.41
that were walking on that road.
00:41:05.44\00:41:07.08
And Jesus caught up to
them and started entertaining a
00:41:07.11\00:41:10.72
conversation with these two men.
00:41:10.75\00:41:12.19
And I want to pick up this
conversation in Luke 24:25-27.
00:41:12.22\00:41:19.16
Some very interesting and
important information here
00:41:19.19\00:41:22.91
on how Jesus proved
that He was the Messiah,
00:41:22.94\00:41:27.17
the promised Messiah.
00:41:27.20\00:41:28.36
It says there in Luke 24:25:
00:41:28.39\00:41:30.97
rabbi's have spoken.
00:41:37.61\00:41:38.91
Thank you! The
prophets have spoken.
00:41:38.95\00:41:41.66
...oral
traditions... No, no, no!
00:41:55.52\00:41:57.74
How did Jesus prove to
these two men that He was
00:42:00.79\00:42:03.12
the promised Messiah?
00:42:03.16\00:42:04.33
By appealing to the
written scriptures once again.
00:42:04.36\00:42:08.00
A little later Jesus...
00:42:08.04\00:42:10.05
You know the two
disciples on the road to Emmaus?
00:42:10.09\00:42:12.51
They turned around and
came back to Jerusalem,
00:42:12.55\00:42:14.94
and found the
disciples in the upper room.
00:42:14.97\00:42:16.78
They knocked. They
identified themselves.
00:42:16.82\00:42:18.59
They went in and through
the door went someone else,
00:42:18.62\00:42:22.03
which was Jesus,
and they didn't see Him.
00:42:22.06\00:42:24.38
He was hidden by the
angel of light several times
00:42:24.42\00:42:26.70
during His ministry.
00:42:26.73\00:42:27.76
And I want you to
notice the record as it's found
00:42:27.79\00:42:30.74
in Luke 24:44-47. Jesus says:
00:42:30.77\00:42:34.75
the oral traditions.
No! The scriptures folks!
00:42:55.46\00:42:58.60
So let me ask
you, How did Jesus face
00:43:13.89\00:43:16.55
theological opposition?
00:43:16.58\00:43:18.08
Did He argue with them?
00:43:18.11\00:43:19.54
Did He pit oral tradition
against oral tradition?
00:43:19.58\00:43:22.84
Did He say what the rabbi's had
said, and what the theologians
00:43:22.88\00:43:26.17
of His day, and the
ministers said? Absolutely not!
00:43:26.20\00:43:28.42
Jesus' standard was Sola
scriptura; scripture alone.
00:43:28.45\00:43:34.97
And in this way He gives us
an example of what our standard
00:43:35.00\00:43:38.90
should be. Our standard
should be scripture alone.
00:43:38.93\00:43:43.16
Now the people were
constantly wondering where Jesus
00:43:43.19\00:43:47.42
had gotten His knowledge
and His authority from,
00:43:47.45\00:43:50.11
being that He had never studied
in the schools of the rabbi's.
00:43:50.14\00:43:52.92
Go with me to Matthew 13:53-57.
00:43:52.95\00:43:59.75
Now the context of this is that
in Matthew 13 Jesus has just
00:43:59.78\00:44:04.31
told a series of
parables, beautiful parables.
00:44:04.34\00:44:07.25
You know, the wheat and
the tares, and the fishing
00:44:07.28\00:44:10.50
expedition, and many
other parables, the sower,
00:44:10.54\00:44:13.72
and many other
parables Jesus had told.
00:44:13.75\00:44:16.01
And after He told these
parables, you know, the people
00:44:16.05\00:44:19.20
marveled at His teaching.
00:44:19.23\00:44:20.91
Notice we'll begin at verse 53.
00:44:20.94\00:44:23.62
That's Nazareth, by the way.
00:44:32.32\00:44:34.18
Huh, this guy didn't study
in the schools of the rabbi's.
00:44:42.86\00:44:49.23
This guy's not a theologian.
00:44:49.26\00:44:52.17
This guy was home schooled!
00:44:52.20\00:44:55.07
How can He teach
such wise words? Notice:
00:44:55.11\00:45:01.97
So Jesus had sisters, didn't He?
00:45:23.00\00:45:25.91
Interesting! Interesting!
00:45:25.94\00:45:28.89
We'll come back to that a little
bit later on in this series.
00:45:28.93\00:45:31.60
Now notice what it
continues saying in verse 56.
00:45:31.63\00:45:35.19
And instead of saying, Wow,
this guy has to be from God!
00:45:44.36\00:45:48.15
This man has to be
from God! They were what?
00:45:48.19\00:45:52.12
It says there in verse 57:
00:45:52.15\00:45:55.41
And, by the way, in
the next verse Jesus says,
00:45:57.63\00:46:00.14
Haven't I told you
that a prophet is without
00:46:00.17\00:46:02.65
honor among his own?
00:46:02.68\00:46:04.06
They just could not accept the
fact that Jesus was the greatest
00:46:04.09\00:46:08.99
theologian on earth, because He
had never studied in the schools
00:46:09.02\00:46:13.89
of the theological
experts of His day.
00:46:13.92\00:46:18.89
Now lets go to
John 7:15, John 7:15.
00:46:18.92\00:46:23.82
This was at the Feast of
Tabernacles in Jerusalem,
00:46:23.86\00:46:26.86
which is the last
feast of the Hebrew year.
00:46:26.90\00:46:30.96
And Jesus went to
the temple, and we're
00:46:31.00\00:46:34.79
told there in verse 15:
00:46:34.83\00:46:36.34
The feast, by the
way, lasted eight days.
00:46:38.27\00:46:40.09
Had Jesus studied?
00:46:51.70\00:46:53.73
Oh, you'd better
believe He had studied.
00:46:53.76\00:46:56.43
He just had not studied
the maxims and the traditions
00:46:56.46\00:46:59.99
of the rabbi's, and
the theological experts,
00:47:00.02\00:47:02.60
but He had
studied, as we noticed,
00:47:02.64\00:47:04.33
the scriptures for Himself.
00:47:04.36\00:47:05.75
He could have never
quoted so many scriptures,
00:47:05.78\00:47:08.11
in so many circumstances,
unless He knew the scriptures
00:47:08.14\00:47:11.95
backwards and forwards.
00:47:11.98\00:47:13.32
And so they asked the question,
How does this man know letters
00:47:13.35\00:47:17.81
having never studied?
00:47:17.84\00:47:19.73
A little bit later on in
the chapter, in chapter 7,
00:47:19.76\00:47:23.07
and verses 21 to 24, Jesus
refers back to the healing of
00:47:23.10\00:47:28.02
the paralytic in chapter 5.
00:47:28.05\00:47:29.56
And I want to read those verses,
because they were still thinking
00:47:29.59\00:47:32.44
about Jesus healing that
paralytic on the Sabbath,
00:47:32.47\00:47:35.49
of all things. They said,
This guy has broken the Sabbath,
00:47:35.53\00:47:38.40
because He
healed on the Sabbath.
00:47:38.43\00:47:39.89
Now notice verse 21.
00:47:39.92\00:47:41.80
They say when the eighth day,
since the birth of an individual
00:47:57.93\00:48:01.98
comes on the Sabbath, you
circumcise on the Sabbath.
00:48:02.02\00:48:04.57
He says:
00:48:04.61\00:48:06.88
And so once again
Jesus is referring to what?
00:48:24.26\00:48:27.62
He's referring to the law
of Moses as He encounters them
00:48:27.66\00:48:31.54
in this particular situation.
00:48:31.57\00:48:33.61
At the end of chapter 7,
you know the religious leaders
00:48:33.65\00:48:39.33
had sent the officers
to where Jesus was teaching
00:48:39.36\00:48:43.55
to arrest Jesus
and bring Him back.
00:48:43.58\00:48:45.41
And I want you to
notice that these individuals,
00:48:45.45\00:48:47.87
instead of arresting
Jesus, and bringing Him back,
00:48:47.91\00:48:50.30
they come back empty handed.
00:48:50.33\00:48:52.11
And I want you to
notice what they said
00:48:52.14\00:48:53.93
to the religious leaders.
00:48:53.96\00:48:55.00
Chapter 7, and verses 45 and 46.
00:48:55.04\00:48:58.52
We sent you out to pick
Him up and bring Him back.
00:49:07.16\00:49:10.58
They were
amazed at His teaching.
00:49:16.59\00:49:20.65
What gave power to
the teaching of Jesus?
00:49:20.68\00:49:23.16
The power in the teaching
of Jesus is that it was based
00:49:23.19\00:49:27.08
on the Word of God,
the written Word of God.
00:49:27.12\00:49:30.00
Why didn't the scribes and
the Pharisees have any power
00:49:30.03\00:49:32.79
in their teaching? Because
it was based on the traditions,
00:49:32.82\00:49:35.96
and the commandments of men,
and with men there is no power.
00:49:36.00\00:49:39.81
Notice Mark 11:27, 28
the religious leaders were
00:49:39.84\00:49:45.14
constantly questioning
Jesus to ask Him, Where did You
00:49:45.18\00:49:48.16
get Your authority from?
00:49:48.19\00:49:49.22
Who gave You the
authority to preach?
00:49:49.25\00:49:51.20
Notice Mark 11:27, 28.
00:49:51.23\00:49:55.98
And you'll find several times in
the gospels that they're asking
00:50:18.92\00:50:22.21
Jesus, Where do You
get Your authority from?
00:50:22.24\00:50:25.24
And, of course, the
answer of Jesus was invariably,
00:50:25.27\00:50:28.75
I get My
authority from My Father
00:50:28.78\00:50:31.67
through the written scriptures.
00:50:31.70\00:50:33.65
Now, it is clear as we examine
the gospels, that the religious
00:50:33.68\00:50:40.88
leaders believed that the
right to teach was theirs,
00:50:40.91\00:50:45.61
and belonged to them alone.
00:50:45.64\00:50:48.05
Because they were the ones
that had studied in the schools.
00:50:48.08\00:50:51.75
They were the ones that
knew all of the traditions.
00:50:51.78\00:50:55.07
They knew all of the
ideas that had been passed along
00:50:55.10\00:50:58.38
from generation to generation.
00:50:58.41\00:51:00.39
But Jesus said
none of this counts.
00:51:00.42\00:51:02.56
It is the written scriptures
that count; Sola scriptura.
00:51:02.59\00:51:07.05
I'd like to bring our
study to an end by referring
00:51:07.08\00:51:10.94
to Matthew 7:28, 29.
00:51:10.98\00:51:14.53
These verses, I've mentioned
them before, and I'll probably
00:51:14.57\00:51:17.11
mention them many
times during this series.
00:51:17.14\00:51:19.82
In fact the last presentation,
number ten, is a study of this
00:51:19.85\00:51:24.53
parable that Jesus
told which concludes the
00:51:24.57\00:51:27.15
Sermon on the Mount, the
parable of the man who built
00:51:27.18\00:51:29.98
his house upon the
rock, and the man who built
00:51:30.01\00:51:32.67
his house upon the sand.
00:51:32.70\00:51:34.14
And I want you to notice that
after Jesus tells this parable,
00:51:34.17\00:51:38.40
of the man who built his house
on the rock, and when we study
00:51:38.44\00:51:42.35
this we're going to notice that
building the house upon the rock
00:51:42.39\00:51:46.27
means building upon
the teachings of Jesus,
00:51:46.30\00:51:49.20
that are based
upon the Word of God.
00:51:49.24\00:51:50.73
And building on the sand
means to build on the traditions
00:51:50.77\00:51:55.54
that had been passed
along by the religious leaders,
00:51:55.58\00:51:58.23
the scholars, and the rabbi's.
00:51:58.26\00:51:59.48
So to build on the sand means
to build on human opinions.
00:51:59.52\00:52:03.22
To build on the rock means to
build on the sayings of Jesus,
00:52:03.26\00:52:06.92
which are based
on the scriptures.
00:52:06.95\00:52:08.79
And I want you to notice
what happens when this story
00:52:08.83\00:52:13.76
comes to an end.
00:52:13.79\00:52:14.91
It says there in
Matthew 7: 28,29:
00:52:14.94\00:52:19.10
The word doctrine probably
is better translated teaching.
00:52:30.65\00:52:34.14
They were
astonished at His teaching.
00:52:34.17\00:52:36.53
And then Matthew adds...
00:52:42.27\00:52:44.69
Did the scribes
have much authority?
00:52:49.54\00:52:53.01
No, because their authority
was quoting other authorities.
00:52:53.05\00:52:56.56
And you know what,
perhaps even in our own
00:52:56.59\00:53:01.56
Seventh-day Adventist Church
we've fallen into that pitfall.
00:53:01.59\00:53:05.36
You know, when I examined
some of the papers, for example,
00:53:05.40\00:53:08.38
that were presented at the
Theology Ordination Committee,
00:53:08.42\00:53:12.08
and you have page, after
page, after page, after page of
00:53:12.12\00:53:15.72
footnotes of what scholars have
to say about a Biblical text,
00:53:15.75\00:53:18.65
it makes me wonder.
00:53:18.68\00:53:20.52
Very little scripture, and
a lot of the opinions of other
00:53:20.56\00:53:25.59
individuals. And human
opinions have no power!
00:53:25.62\00:53:28.25
The power is in the Word of God!
00:53:28.29\00:53:31.34
Now I'd like to end by, once
again, reading that statement
00:53:31.37\00:53:35.39
from Ellen White,
that classic statement from
00:53:35.42\00:53:37.50
The Great Controversy, page 595.
00:53:37.54\00:53:39.56
And, you know, you're
going to hear this majestic hymn
00:53:39.59\00:53:43.02
of the Protestant Reformation:
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,
00:53:43.06\00:53:46.96
based on Psalm 46.
00:53:47.00\00:53:48.62
And Luther had
this severe struggle...
00:53:48.65\00:53:50.80
You know, and there's
some Protestant leaders today
00:53:50.83\00:53:53.16
that are saying, Well, you
know, the Protestant Reformation
00:53:53.19\00:53:56.15
is over, because the Catholic
Church and Protestants believe
00:53:56.18\00:54:00.30
the same thing on
righteousness by faith.
00:54:00.33\00:54:02.67
That we're justified
by grace through faith.
00:54:02.71\00:54:04.98
But what these individuals are
forgetting is that the clarion
00:54:05.01\00:54:10.38
call of the
Protestant Reformation was not
00:54:10.41\00:54:13.91
that man is justified
by grace through faith.
00:54:13.94\00:54:17.97
It was Sola scriptura!
00:54:18.01\00:54:20.07
Because there were many other
practices of the Roman Catholic
00:54:20.11\00:54:22.75
Church which were
criticized by Martin Luther
00:54:22.78\00:54:25.77
and the Protestant leaders.
00:54:25.80\00:54:26.83
It was not only
righteousness by faith,
00:54:26.86\00:54:29.31
that Catholics and Protestants
can come to an agreement on
00:54:29.35\00:54:32.09
righteousness by faith.
00:54:32.12\00:54:33.16
But there are so many
other things like the Sabbath,
00:54:33.19\00:54:36.02
like praying to
and for the dead,
00:54:36.05\00:54:37.67
like celebrating
Lent, confessing your sins
00:54:37.71\00:54:40.31
to a priest,
getting indulgences.
00:54:40.34\00:54:42.66
I mean the list
goes on, and on, and on.
00:54:42.70\00:54:45.39
Things that are based
only on tradition and not
00:54:45.43\00:54:47.85
on the Word of God.
00:54:47.88\00:54:48.91
This is the
statement from Ellen White:
00:54:48.94\00:54:50.91
See, Sola scriptura.
00:54:58.51\00:55:01.14
What a majestic statement!
00:55:47.23\00:55:49.25
And then, as I mentioned before,
she warns us about trusting
00:55:49.28\00:55:54.82
the opinions of the
bishops, and the pastors,
00:55:54.86\00:55:58.71
and the professors of theology,
taking them as guides instead
00:55:58.74\00:56:04.74
of searching the scriptures to
learn our duty from God Himself.
00:56:04.77\00:56:10.77
And, of course, she warns
that by controlling the minds
00:56:10.80\00:56:15.36
of the people, the Devil
can control basically the world.
00:56:15.40\00:56:19.93
Because if people blindly
trust their religious leaders,
00:56:19.97\00:56:24.42
they'll do what their
religious leaders say.
00:56:24.46\00:56:27.42
So if their religious leaders
say, Hey, everybody is supposed
00:56:27.46\00:56:31.40
to keep Sunday in
honor of the resurrection.
00:56:31.43\00:56:33.57
If people don't go to the Bible
to study this for themselves,
00:56:33.60\00:56:36.53
and they simply accept
what the theologians say,
00:56:36.57\00:56:39.41
because they
say, Hey these people,
00:56:39.45\00:56:40.96
they went to the seminary.
00:56:41.00\00:56:42.06
You know, they've studied
this out, and so we can trust
00:56:42.10\00:56:44.45
what they're saying.
00:56:44.49\00:56:45.52
And people don't go to
the scriptures for themselves
00:56:45.55\00:56:48.32
to see if it is so.
00:56:48.35\00:56:50.72
And it applies not only to
the Sabbath, but to any other
00:56:50.75\00:56:54.65
doctrine, or to any other
practice that we are going to
00:56:54.69\00:56:58.21
believe in, or that we are
going to implement in our lives.
00:56:58.25\00:57:01.74
We must absolutely have as
our foundation the Word of God,
00:57:01.77\00:57:07.73
the written Word of
God, the writings of the Old
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and the New Testament
are our foundation rock.
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And when the tempest
comes, which it will come,
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the house that is built
upon the rock will stand.
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It will withstand the
winds, and the floods because
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we are built on the
eternal Word of God.
00:57:25.39\00:57:28.13